A rescue team has launched a search for a US alpinist who was climbing Mount Elbrus in the North Caucasian Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria and did not return to a control point, the republican emergencies services said on Sunday, TASS reports.

"Information came at 08:45 that an alpinist registered in the Elbrus area, a US citizen who was climbing the southern slope of Mount Elbrus, did not return to the control point at the established time," the report says.

As the emergencies services said, the US climber was expected to return to the control point on June 16 but the man did not report about the completion of his route within the designated time and also had no communications means with him.

The rescuers will follow the American climber’s route to rule out the probability of an emergency situation, the emergencies services said.